Tal Shiar

The Tal Shiar was the elite intelligence agency of the Romulan Star Empire. It was a highly-respected and feared force in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants. Its purpose was guarding the security of the Empire, both from the Romulans' interstellar enemies - most notably the United Federation of Planets and the Klingon Empire – as well as from traitors within the Romulan population itself. The covert, often invisible presence of the Tal Shiar kept the general populace in a constant state of paranoia. Dissatisfaction with the status quo were met with severe punishment and dissidents were often known to "disappear". (TNG: "Face of the Enemy")

The Tal Shiar reported only to the highest levels of the Romulan government, and even so they undertook many missions without the direct knowledge of the Romulan Senate, conducting operations with virtual impunity throughout the Empire. Their authority superseded that of most Romulan militarycommanders, resulting in a mutual distrust and hatred between the two organizations. The Tal Shiar operated their own fleet, often to their own aims. (TNG: "Face of the Enemy"; DS9: "The Die is Cast")

Unlike the Obsidian Order, the Tal Shiar was able to be rebuilt after the attack on the Founders' homeworld. In 2374, operatives of the Romulan Military hijacked the prototype starshipUSS Prometheus and attempted to bring it to the Star Empire. They were supposed to bring it to the Military but received orders during the operation to deliver it to the Tal Shiar's fleet instead. (VOY: "Message in a Bottle")

In The Way of D'era, the Tal Shiar has a military counterpart, the Tal Diann. The Tal Diann was set up by the Romulan Navy to keep tabs on both the Tal Shiar and several fleets directed by Senators, reporting the former's actions to Star Command, and the latter's to the Praetor.

In Star Trek Online, set in the year 2409, the Tal Shiar are the main rivals of Empress Sela for control of the dying Romulan Empire, which has become engulfed by internal conflict since the destruction of Romulus in 2387. The Tal Shiar have aligned with the Iconians against the Federation, the Klingon Empire, and the dissident colony of "New Romulus", seeing the Iconians as their best bet of regaining their former glory. In the feature episode series "Cloaked Intentions", players from both the Federation and the Klingon Empire join the Reman resistance against the Tal Shiar and their commander, Colonel Hakeev, culminating in a showdown at a secret Romulan base that incorporates active Iconian gateways. In STO's expansion pack, Legacy of Romulus, the Tal Shiar is the principal antagonist of the Romulan Republic's storyline, which ends with the five missions of "Cloaked Intentions".